Burned Papers
by baby's breath
Summary: She has to recall, and choose between the two of them. He has to hurry, before she falls for somebody else. And he has to try and keep him from taking away the person he had learned to love. [SasukexSakuraxSai]


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➺**Chapter One

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Memories are like letters – written history of someone's life on papers, transcribed for the sole purpose of reminiscing. At times, the tip of time would erase very old memories, important or not. Sometimes the wind of age would blur away the ink so that the memories would seem so far away. And there were those very rare times, when the fire of Fate would burn the whole paper and leave nothing but ashes, barely recognizable that there was no other choice but to create new ones, new memories, and try to retrieve the old ones.

**xXx**

"Sasuke-kun!"

Tears fell from chartreuse eyes, as she flew towards him and threw her body against his, her arms wounding on his neck, her face buried on his chest. A hand hesitantly rested on her head in a way of comforting that only he can do at that moment.

She sobbed and lifted her head, her watery eyes like knives that pierced his heart.

"Tell me, tell me that what Itachi-niichan told me was not true," she pleaded, her voice of mixed sadness and grief, disbelief and accusing at the same time.

He was startled, unprepared for this situation. He could not pull any words from his mind, any form of sentence that would tell her that what his brother said was true. Whichever way he chose to confirm her fear, it would hurt her anyway. It was like choosing between two roses, both of which have thorns that would prick anyone's fingers.

There was a moment of silence as he pondered on what to say, and she took it as the answer to the question that she asked him.

"So it was true...?," she murmured quietly, her eyes not leaving his dark ones, her voice a mere whimper as her throat felt like cotton and the tears once again bundled up at the corner of her eyes.

The way his eyes moved to the sides, unable to look at her eye to eye, was like salt that added to her already bleeding heart.

She gasped for air, wanting to ask him why he did not tell her anything, why everyone else knew, and she was the only one left in the dark. She wanted to reprimand him for not telling her the truth and still pretend to love her when he was destined to stomp on her heart a million times.

But her heart felt too weak to even speak a word.

She lowered her arms on his chest, her hands resting on his shirt before she fisted the dark blue fabric in anger and sadness. His silence taunted her troubled mind, it was like he has no intention of comforting her in any way, that the love he showed her was only a mere presentation; he was the puppeteer and she was the puppet.

She dropped her gaze to her pale hands that still wrung on his shirt, the action causing the built up tears on her eyes to fall briefly. Her eyes narrowed to half its size and her jaws tightened together. Gently, with little force and trembling hands, she tried to push him away from her. But it was like trying to push a log away with a stick, he did not even budge from his place.

His hands rested on her hips to silently tell her not to leave, and she waited for him to say anything. She hoped that she misinterpreted him, that Itachi was just trying to flare up her temper, that everything was just a script in a comedy movie – a joke. The thought brought a new sense of strength in her.

But the way he breathed out a sigh, as if he was a very old man bearing the earth on his shoulders, shattered every thoughts – hopes – that kept her up. It was really true, he truly was leaving. Her eyes widened for a moment, the realization surprised her as much as she was surprised of the news that Itachi spilled to her, wether it was on his intention or not.

Seeing his worn-out look, the anger growing roots in her heart dispersed, leaving sadness alone to conquer her emotions at the moment. She lifted her hand and cupped his cheek, rubbing her thumb on his smooth skin. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, her voice a squeak as more tears threatened to fall.

He sighed once more that it seemed to her that he was the most troubled man she ever met. His eyes met hers, its deep black colour bringing her a sense of comfort and her tears ceased to descent.

"I don't want to hurt you," was his simple reply. He leaned on the warmth that came from her palm, inhaling the sweet scent of jasmine she loved to spray on her wrist.

She took off her hand from his face and placed it on top of his arm that still rested on her hip. She gave him a hard gaze. "But you would rather have me know it from others, rather than telling it yourself?" Her tone was almost accusing, but her mind was in a storm right now. It hurt that he could not entrust her with such things, but a bigger, more logical part of her – the one that loved him so much – was telling her that it was necessary so as to not hurt her. However, that part was like a tiny voice amidst a crowd; it was barely audible to her.

He gave her a glare of his own. Her stubbornness was what was keeping her from seeing the situation on other angles. Had she not considered that it was probably hard for him to tell her that? That every time she smiled at him, made contact with him, he could not gather enough strength to tell her that he was leaving? He just loved the girl too much that even the thought of leaving her pained him so.

He held her closer to him. "It was hard to do. I dreaded telling you this," he confessed, his voice in a low whisper, as if he was afraid that if he raised his voice she would break like any fragile glass.

She melted on his hug, like a butter near the heat. She lowered her eyelids over her apple-green eyes, the tears acting as glue for her lashes as she tried to control her hiccups that were the results of her crying. Leaning on his broad shoulder, she moved her hand that was fisting his shirt and rested it on his back.

"Why?" she asked gently, her voice remained broken, the anger long gone as soon as she was enveloped in his hug. It was his rare affectionate acts that acted as water that wash out her fires of anger. Still, the sadness overwhelmed her insides like a tough weed on the ground; no matter how many times it was pulled, its roots still stay.

His hold on her petite form loosen and her eyes opened up. He did not answer for a moment, as if contemplating wether he should respond on it or not, and she waited patiently. She was not sure if she wanted to hear his answer herself, her mind was still playing on her, trying to stir the fact that he was leaving her.

"It was Tou-san. He got a good offer and could not help but accept it," he explained in his monotone voice that she loved.

A hiccup escaped her throat. "But, do you really have to go too?"

"I have to. Tou-san won't accept 'no' for an answer."

The painful tug on her chest returned and her eyes stung as new tears resurfaced. She swallowed a little to wet her dry throat. The thought of him leaving was like a door closing out her future. It seemed to her that when he would be gone, he would bring along everything else that she would feel so alone.

Her other arm wrapped itself on his neck, tightening their embrace. She gulped for air and he felt her lips close to his ear. "I...," a hiccup disrupted her sentence and so she breathed in air again as if it was the strength that she needed in order to speak, "I love you with all my heart."

She moved, loosening their locked bodies, and faced him. Her eyes were begging him, she placed her hands on his face and smiled bitterly. She knew that it has effect on him, her smile that is. She was being selfish, but she loved him so much and she wanted him to stay. It does not matter to her right now if what she was doing was probably making it harder for him to let go.

"Please just stay with me." She felt his hand held her own hand that rested on his face.

"I want to, but you know Tou-san once he made up his mind," he explained slowly, like a mom to her child, so that it would not hurt her more and it would be easier for her to just let him go.

"I would do anything for you! Just, don't leave!" she begged, her voice like a broken doll's. To him, she was a very beautiful and fragile porcelain doll. And letting go of something as precious as her was the same as a child letting go of a doll that she had grown up with.

He smirked. It was like a sad smile; it did not even brighten up his face.

"You really are annoying."

Her eyes widened for a moment at that comment, the comment that he gave her once when they were still thirteen. It was the first time that they were able to talk with each other about the matters of heart, the first time she was able to have a peek through the walls he built around himself. It was the first time she understood him, even for just a little. He was perfect outside as he had shown her throughout their childhood years together with Naruto, but inside he was just a lonely boy longing for recognition, not because of his family name but because of who he was. The comment caused tears in her eyes then, but it was the first time she saw him in a different light and the very first time that she fell truly in love.

She buried her head once again on his chest, not letting go of her hold on him. "Don't leave!" Her voice was subdued by his shirt and he saw her shoulders shook from her sobs.

"Sakura." He paused for a moment, gently placing his hands on her shoulder so that she would face him once more. "You have to go to school or you'll be late," he told her, indicating that their conversation was over and that wether they like it or not he has to leave.

He received a stubborn shake of her head as a reply. He sighed, it seemed like he was doing that a lot that day. He was a father to her at the moment, trying to usher his daughter to school. He himself was going to be late for his flight and he was aware that she was oblivious to that. Knowing his older brother, he did not give her the full details as he was a man of few words.

"I'll walk you to school," he said with a tone too full for any more argument.

She nodded tediously, her eyes lowering down to the ground covered in green grass. Shadows of her lashes lingered on her rosy cheeks as the sun continue to rise up from the horizon. She followed him as he bent down to pick up her bag she had thrown earlier upon seeing him. Securing it on one of his hands, she felt his other hand wrapped itself on her delicate one. The warmth spread from her cold hands to her body. It was like a mother's lullaby that comforted her. She was much too familiar to the feeling of their hands locked together.

It was a short walk, silent and slow. To her, everything was like a still background of a theatre and she and Sasuke were the only ones moving. The only thing she could hear was their slow and constant footsteps, their steady breathing and the rapid movement of her heart. It made her feel uncomfortable just thinking of him moving away, and her hand moved so that their fingers intertwine. She felt more secure that doing so would make it harder for him to let go of her hand.

"Sakura."

Her eyes flickered up to his shoulders before it finally landed on his Adonis-like face, seeing his face hardened, his features set. It was his alluring way of showing he was serious.

"Thank you."

She opened her mouth to say something, and realized that she could not give any response. His words were simple, but very vague that it could mean and refer to a thousand things. It was like the abstract painting that she saw when they had their fist date; she ended up interpreting it in many ways because of how vague the colours and shapes the painting donned.

She smiled at him, noticing his lips were set in a thin line and his eyes trained up ahead. But she knew that he knew she was smiling for the grip on her hand tightened even for just a very slight amount.

The entrance of the school became more visible. If it was in a movie, the camera would be moving forward to the entrance so that the viewers would be able to see the plain building standing in the middle of a wide field, enclosed by cemented walls and lines and lines of cherry trees that bloom abruptly every spring. Slicing the four-story building in half was a clock tower, over viewing the dusty pavements of the front building of the school while the back of the building was covered in grass for the different sports fields.

It looked like a ghost building, for only a few students were present at that early moment. There weren't many students to begin with either, for Konoha was a very small village. Everyone knew each other as how a jock knew his horse, and even the tiniest of events were a huge gossip to the villagers. It was a wonder how she never learned that he was leaving until then and how her friends were able to keep the secret from her.

The silence between them was interrupted by the loud running footsteps near the entrance of the school. The sound was made from shoes stepping hurriedly on the stony and dusty pavement of the front of their school and sure enough, the couple saw someone running towards the two of them.

"Sasuke!"

They stopped near the school's entryway, waiting for the person who was running. They already know who he was, for he was a very close friend to them, their closest friend in fact. Together, the three of them were the best of friends. They were like three beans in a pod, they knew each other well since they were just small children.

He stopped in front of them, trying to catch his breath as he crouched down and rested his hands on his knees for support. He looked up, but the usual lopsided grin that he greet them with every morning was gone, replaced by a thin line. He inclined his head, in a way to say that he acknowledge that Sakura was there too. But he could not bring himself to smile at her like everyday just by seeing her eyes that were puffy from crying and the remnants of the tears that hung up on her thick lashes like beads. He knew very well why she had been crying and he felt guilt crawl its tiny tentacles to his heart, squeezing it painfully.

He tried to meet her gaze, his ocean blue eyes bright with sadness. "Sakura-chan."

She gritted her teeth at him, almost snarling. Her eyes narrowed, meeting his sad gaze as she clenched her free hand. She took a tiny step backwards and closer to Sasuke, the anger she felt from before once again resurfacing, though for a different reason.

Loosening her clenched fist, she gazed sideways to the ground so that she could only see Sasuke's dark blue sneakers.

"Don't. Don't talk to me right now, Naruto," she murmured quietly, tiredly.

Naruto moved closer to the two of them, intending to explain everything to her, to explain himself and everyone else. He wanted to tell her that they kept silence for her own good, that it was Sasuke's choice too, for them to not tell her. He wanted to confess to her how sorry he was that everything has to end that way.

"Sakura-chan." The sad tone of his voice was so unfamiliar to her that it made her frown in discomfort. "I'm sorry," he finished.

Soon she felt the tears forming again. It always does, whenever she was angry or sad, even when she was frustrated. It was one of her flaws that if possible, she wanted to destroy.

"How could you keep it from me, Naruto?" she asked after a pause. Her voice was accusing once again, his name sounded like an unwanted ingredient in a dish.

He looked at her with watery eyes; he had never seen her so angry at him.

He was so much like a puppy deprived of home, beaten and hurt that Sakura covered her mouth gently, as if the action would bring back the sharp words she blurted out. Her tears landed on her hand instead upon realizing that he was about to cry because of her irrational harshness. She felt so guilty for acting so wrong at that very moment. Deep within, she knew why he did not tell her anything about Sasuke leaving, but she sought for anything to vent out her anger and sadness, and it was Naruto who received it.

A tug on her hand reminded her of Sasuke's presence. She looked up at him through her briny tears.

"Stop blaming him Sakura. It was me who asked them not to tell you anything," he explained, his voice tight.

She bit her lower lip in shame. "I know. I just, I still don't want to believe that...," she buried her face on the palm of her hands then, unable to finish her sentence properly as another row of sobs resounded from her. She leaned slightly on Sasuke as she continued to cry, no matter how much she wanted to stop the tears right then.

Sasuke lifted her chin with his index finger, making her look at him once more. "I'll come back. That's a promise," he murmured slowly to her.

She only nodded in response, scared that she would not find her voice to say anything or that if she ever say anything another row of tears would fall. There was no movement for a moment as she tried to adjust herself. Then her lips curved into a tiny, half-hearted smile at the enlightening promise he made.

"I'll see you this afternoon then?" she asked him, her eyes hopeful.

He stiffened for a moment, casting a sideward glance at his male best friend before returning his attention to Sakura and nodding.

"I love you," she whispered. Then she stood on her tiptoes to place a lingering, chaste kiss on his lips.

Naruto quickly looked to his side, not wanting to interfere his two best friends.

When the heels of her feet touched the ground once again, Sasuke gave her a little push towards Naruto's direction. She made few, uncertain steps then stopped as she looked over her shoulder to peek at the form of the man she loves.

"This afternoon, Sasuke-kun," she softly reminded, the knots on her chest loosening, knowing that she would still see him.

Sasuke nodded once more and watched as Sakura smiled slightly at Naruto, to show that she was apologizing for her improper action just moments ago. Naruto grinned, hugging her loosely before she detached herself to wave at Sasuke. Then Naruto told her to go on, and she gestured a yes and walked to the school building.

The sight of her back, her form moving farther away from him, looked so ominous, like a distant nightmare that was just before his eyes. Sasuke turned to Naruto, who was still there. He smirked. Even if Naruto was not of the brightest people in the world, he would always be able to read his mind.

Naruto always knew when Sasuke wanted to speak to him, even if Sasuke would not announce it to him.

Sasuke kicked a pebble on the ground and watched it as it rolled down until it rested near the roots of the nearest cherry tree.

"You didn't tell her that you're leaving this morning?" Naruto asked.

His deep black eyes glanced at the visible pink of Sakura's hair, who was now talking to one of her friends, her bag held in front of her with her two hands. The time flew by slowly, and no one said a word. "I can't," he finally replied, turning to Naruto once more.

Naruto sighed, letting his eyelids cover his eyes for a moment. It was hard for him too, as much as it was hard for Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke leaving was like taking away a big piece of a puzzle of their lives, so that it was never going to be complete and it would always be empty.

"Take care of her," Sasuke said.

Naruto opened his eyes and regarded Sasuke as he turned around to leave. Naruto watched his back as he walked away, walked away from them for a long, long time.

"Promise me, Naruto." Sasuke stopped, waiting for a response to come.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in set determination. "Mm." And he nodded, even though Sasuke could not see it.

And then he left, and Naruto walked back to the building as more students started arriving.

**xXx**

Sakura tapped her pen lazily against the table, a hand supporting her chin and her eyes trained to the grassy grounds outside the room that was shown through the window. Their second period had just started, and as usual their teacher was late, so the students were lounging around the room either taking a nap or talking to themselves. She watched the soccer game happening outside with indifference, noticing Lee as he kicked a goal. He jumped up in fervour, his teammates patting him at the back as he punched a fist in the air. She rolled her eyes to the front for nothing outside interested her; the teacher's desk was still empty. The tapping ceased and she buried her head on her arms, the pen she once held rolled on the table and fell on the floor.

Someone picked up the material and laid it gently beside Sakura. Ino looked at Sakura for a moment in empathy. She knew it was best for her to leave her friend alone for the moment, but it bothered her so much, much like everyone else, to see Sakura like that.

The sliding door of their room slid open, and all students straightened themselves up as their teacher entered the room.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he stated in a chirpy tone, although everyone in the room knew he did not really mean it. He was known for his lateness that his words of apology were just out of habit, similar to how a clock tell the time out of habit.

Sakura reached for her bag and pulled out the book that they were reading for their English class. _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. How ironic, the story of love between Lysander and Hermia who eloped just so they would not be separated, while there she was, sitting by herself and her boyfriend was leaving. She let her fingers glide along the green cover of the thin book, letting out a sad sigh.

Kakashi pulled out a chalk from a small box on his desk and wrote on the board. Other students opened up their books on the page that was written on the board. It was a daily routine, whenever they were reading literary pieces, that they read a few pages every class, answer a few questions and have a class discussion about the pages they read.

Sakura was comfortable with that, she always enjoyed the discussions for Kakashi always have different activities up his sleeve to keep the class attentive and interested. But at the moment, she could not bring herself to be delighted. She threw a glance at the empty seat beside Naruto, where Sasuke was assigned to sit. The blonde was staring blankly at the open book, and she knew how he was feeling at the moment. Out of the circle of friends they have, the two of them were the most affected with the sudden change.

She turned to her own book, reading the same contents for the second time, her mind not really focused on the written play. As she continued, Hermia's words were no longer hers, but Sakura's, and Lysander was no longer Lysander, but Sasuke. Sakura imagined that she was Hermia as she read on the part when Lysander unveiled her of the plans he had set so that she would not be wedded to Demetrius.

There was a knock on the door, and a few curious heads shot up to see who it was. Kakashi promptly closed his book and walked to the door, opening it with his one hand while the other rested inside his pocket.

"Yes?"

Akane, the principal's assistant, walked in. "Sorry for the interruption Kakashi-san, but we have a new student."

At the sound of 'new student', few more heads shot up, trying to see the newcomer. Sakura, however, continued to read the play, drowned in a world that was only Sasuke and hers. Her eyes never left the crisp, white page as she got to the lines where Helena came.

Kakashi and Akane talked about the student's arrangement before she left, patting the new student at the shoulder for luck. Quietly, she slid the door close as the students gazed at the boy in interest.

Kakashi cleared his throat as a chorus of whispers enveloped the room like bees in a garden. The action was followed by immediate silence and he occupied the middle of the front floor, the incomer following without a word.

"Well, as obvious as it was, we have a new student." He turned to the motionless boy who was staring up ahead like a scarecrow. "Please introduce yourself to your new classmates."

The boy turned around and grabbed the piece of chalk that Kakashi had previously used. Everyone was reserved, watching the boy as he wrote his name on the board noiselessly.

Sakura flipped a page of her book, past the pages Kakashi had assigned for the class to read.

He turned to face the class once more, his dark eyes regarding every person with obvious disinterest. The room's teacher raised an eyebrow in amusement at the word written on the board.

"I am called... Sai...," he drawled on, the familiar huskiness of his voice made Sakura look at him. Even the weird way that he introduced himself piqued her interest. "It's nice meeting you." He smiled an empty smile that did not convince Sakura that what he said was genuine.

Kakashi looked around as the students threw whispers to each other once more. A few girls were giggling to themselves, apparently in awe of how cute the boy was while others seemed disinterested or confused. He rubbed the back of his head and ordered the class to silence.

"You can sit next to Uzumaki Naruto." He looked pointedly at the blonde, noticing how his hyper persona had evaporated to thin air. Of course he was aware of the reason behind this; everybody does. He momentarily glanced at Sakura; she was once again absorbed into reading the book, but he knew that she felt worse than Naruto.

Sai took a step forward then stopped, not knowing who the teacher was referring to.

"Uzumaki-kun, please raise your hand."

Naruto flinched at the sound of his name, as if Kakashi had only called him then. He looked around wildly, wondering why he was called but he raised his hand nevertheless. A few of his classmates snickered at his reaction.

With another of his fake smiles, Sai walked through the aisles created by the student desks and sat on the empty chair beside Naruto. They did not exchange words, only glances, and Naruto found Sai too much like Sasuke, with his voice and his dark eyes and hair.

**xXx**

The bell rang, just when the class discussion was getting more exciting, and Kakashi stood up from his perch on one of the student desks. It was his habit to discuss in the class and sit on one of the desks, like he was just a wise story-teller, a friend, and not an uptight teacher. It was that laid-back attitude that made so many students classify him as their favourite teacher, despite his tardiness.

The students headed for the door to their third period class. A few who were slow were left, including Sakura. She was quiet most of the time, and even when the bell rang, she made no hasty move to pack her book back into her bag.

"Sakura," Ino called, her fingers lightly grazing the smooth surface of Sakura's table.

Sakura looked up at her, closing the book in a snail's pace. "Go ahead Ino."

Ino nodded and walked ahead. She met Naruto at the door, together with Shikamaru, and she spoke something Sakura could not hear and the three of them headed for the third class after Naruto glanced at her briefly.

Groaning in exasperation for the time just have to move too slowly for her, Sakura closed her bag and headed out of the room. She was very eager for school to end so that she could see Sasuke again.

"Sakura-san," Kakashi called at her back.

The rosette turned around, seeing her teacher and the new student. She recalled his name to be Sai, and he was looking at her intently like a piece of specimen, dissecting every part of her body from head to toe, that she suddenly felt self-conscious.

She gritted her teeth together, self-consciousness replaced by anger as he continued to stare.

"Yes?" Her voice made him blink, and he twisted his head and looked down at Kakashi who sat casually on his seat, gathering up his materials.

"Could you please escort Sai to the next class?" Kakashi requested.

She looked at the two males back and forth. "Sure." Sakura turned on her heels and waited for the newcomer to follow her. The bell would be ringing in a few minutes, indicating the start of the third period. They do not really change their classrooms, but their next class was Chemistry and so they have to head for the laboratory.

The hallways were empty, except for a few students scurrying back to their classrooms. She made no move to acknowledge her companion, for she was in no mood for that. Sakura could hear her light footsteps against the floor, as well as his.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw him staring at her once again with another of his feigned smiles. She stopped, and so did he, and faced him with narrowed eyes and an unpleasant frown.

"Would you please stop staring?"

His smile widened as he scratched his cheek. "I'm not staring."

To Sakura, his smile was like a smug expression and she brought her fingers together to form a fist. "Yes you are!"

"Why would I stare at you? You're a crone," he stated off-handedly.

"I'm a WHAT?!"

A teacher appeared from one of the rooms because of her outburst, poking his head on the door with a stern look on his face. "Haruno-san, please refrain from shouting at the hallways during class hours."

Sakura stifled a retort, moving her fisted hand lightly back and forth to control her urge to punch someone. She turned to the teacher and apologized instead. "Yes, Yamato-sensei." She narrowed her eyes at Sai with pure distaste, anger making her blood boil.

Yamato tilted his head. "Aren't you two supposed to be in class right now?"

"Yes," Sai answered, "but the hag was just too slow at walking."

The teacher laughed lightly at the comment. With a shake of his head he closed the door, but not after seeing a red-faced Sakura throw a deathly look at Sai.

Sakura took in deep breaths and mentally counted up to ten to calm her raging nerves. Once she felt that she could talk to him again without the intention of punching him square at the jaw she resumed her strides, confident that he would follow. With a frown fixed on her features, she walked quickly to their next class, uncaring wether Sai was able to catch up with her or not.

Sai followed her wordlessly, amused by her short temper.

**xXx**

Another bell echoed in the school building, and Sakura felt her heart jump to her throat. There were only lunch and two more classes to go before she sees Sasuke again. An involuntary smile lit up her face as she stacked the big Science textbook back in the shelf, her mind wandering back to her thoughts about Sasuke.

"Sakura, c'mon," someone called from behind her. She straightened herself up and nodded at Ino. They left the room together and headed for the cafeteria.

"You seemed suddenly so happy," Ino observed with a smile.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders, trying to dodge the other students walking at the corridors. "I'll be seeing Sasuke-kun this afternoon again, is all."

The smile on Ino's face froze, and there was a sudden painful force in her chest that began from her heart and spread throughout her chest as she gazed sadly at Sakura's happy, yet oblivious, façade. She immediately trained her line of vision at the front, her shoulder bumping with a student. She could not bear to look at her friend at the moment.

"So, I see you escorted Sai to our third class," Ino began.

Her companion raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of subject but answered nonetheless. "Kakashi-sensei asked me to. I wouldn't have if it was my choice. He was such a jerk," Sakura narrated with yet again another frown.

Ino's blue eyes rested at her. She expected Sakura to at least act warmly to the newcomer. After all, Sai looked so much like Sasuke. Ino pushed open the door to the cafeteria. Sakura was very loyal to Sasuke indeed. The rosette only had eyes for the Uchiha that Ino could not help but hide a sad smile.

**xXx**

Lunch period passed by smoothly, and Sakura felt excitement bubble up inside her as school dismissal drew near. She walked out of the girls' changing room and headed outside the building and into the track, where the unbelievably energetic Gai was waiting for the students to gather. She almost skipped her way there. PhysEd was their last period, and she could not wait until it ended.

"Good afternoon my youthful students!" Gai exclaimed with his bright smile present.

He could hear a few answers from the small crowd and his eyes rested on a new face of a lad, named Sai if he remembered correctly. He gave a toothy grin and exclaimed, "I see, we have a new student. Let's give him a warm welcome by running a few laps on the track!"

There were groans that erupted from the students as they promptly followed their teacher to the track, painted in red with white stripes. It was not only because they hated the jogging routine, it was also because whenever Gai said 'a few laps' it meant a lot more. The teacher just have to have a stamina of a bull that they could not keep up with.

Gai was shouting words of encouragement as they jogged in circles for a good ten laps.

"Alright! Five minutes of rest and then we're doing football!" he announced once he decided that their laps were enough.

Naruto and Sakura sat at the grass near the track as they both drank on water bottles they brought with them. Naruto was panting noticeably, and so does Sakura.

"Hello, hag."

Sakura's brows moved closer at the greeting and she continued gulping down her water, pointedly ignoring Sai.

Naruto raised his head and saw Sai hovering in front of them. The corner of his lips showed his canine tooth as he growled. "What did you call her?!" he demanded.

Sai gave him another empty smile. "A hag," he repeated.

"Why you!" Naruto launched himself at him, a fist raised and ready to strike. Sakura stood up in worry and attempted to stop Naruto. Sai merely closed his eyes and sidestepped Naruto's attack, like a graceful dancer in an interpretative dance.

Sakura caught her friend before he hit the ground.

"You're... fairly weak. So what do you have between your legs?" Sai asked so calmly, the smile still present on his face. His calm demeanor made Naruto the more angrier, despite Sakura's attempts to calm him down and the students enclosing them, eager to see a fight.

"Stop it!" It was Sakura who spoke this time and the smile on Sai's face melted away, as if her words were fire thrown at him. She twisted her neck to look at him over her shoulder. "Just stop pestering us, okay?! And don't ever greet me like you have known me for a long time!" she yelled harshly. She helped Naruto stand straight, and with one last glare, they headed to where Gai was currently dragging a bag full of footballs.

The eager crowd dispersed, disappointed for the lack of action. Sai stood still for a moment before he himself headed to their teacher, who was now teaching how to throw a perfect spiral correctly, contemplating on what Sakura had said.

When all was said and demonstrated about the right way of throwing a ball, Gai barked orders that the class should break down into groups of three. The students did so promptly, and to Sakura's dismay Sai was on their team.

"Alright! One should be the quarterback, the other the centre and the last one the receiver!" Gai yelled in enthusiasm. "We're doing the old drill!"

Sakura was the first to be the quarterback and Naruto was the centre, while Sai was the one who would receive the ball. They positioned themselves with Sakura at the rear end, Naruto at the centre, crouched and ready to 'flick' the ball to Sakura, and Sai in front of Naruto, ready to run once the ball was thrown. All of them waited for the blow of Gai's whistle.

Naruto held the ball on the ground, ready to pass it to Sakura. A loud whistle erupted and Naruto flicked his wrist as the ball flew at his back furtively. Sakura caught the ball, took a step back and threw it. She groaned when the ball wiggled midair before Sai caught it. She was not too disappointed though, for some of her classmates did worse jobs. She smiled in appreciation when Naruto praised her.

They then switched positions; she was now the centre, Sai was the quarterback and Naruto was the receiver. Another blow of whistle came from Gai and Sakura passed the ball to Sai who caught it with ease, as if he had done that all his life and was just doing a simple demo. Sakura watched him as he took a step back like what she did before and threw the ball. It spiralled perfectly, like an arrow flying to its target, unlike the others that wiggled in the air and only reached a small distance.

For a moment, she imagined Sasuke throwing the ball. He would do it so perfectly, like how Sai had done it – straight and far. Sasuke was not one of the school's ace football player for nothing.

"He's so good, like Sasuke-kun!" Sakura heard a girl comment at her back. She broke off of her stupor upon hearing the comment and saw Sai smiling at her, as if he had not insulted her and Naruto during their five-minute rest. She felt her face heat up, wondering if he had seen her gape at him like a fish.

Naruto ran back to them, having caught the ball. They switched positions once more as Gai had instructed, this time with Naruto as the quarterback.

Sakura tried to shut off the comments about how much Sai was so good at the game as she stood, prepared to run once the ball was thrown. She was much more used to comments about how good _Sasuke_ was at the game.

**xXx**

At last, the day was over. Sakura walked right to where the school's entrance was. She headed to the genkan that has a lot of rows of little cubbies. She switched her 'inside shoes' for her outside sneakers and promptly headed for the school gates, her feet twitching to just run to the entrance.

She leaned on one of the school's walls' posts, watching the students as they head for home. Nobody used any car in their village to go to school, because as it was stated before, Konoha was a very small place. Usually, she would walk home with Naruto and Sasuke but Naruto was on duty that day and was helping in cleaning up the classroom along with Hinata. Sakura smiled at the thought of the two in duty together, and glanced at her watch; it was only a few minutes after school was dismissed. She tried not to worry about Sasuke not arriving early.

The number of students streaming out of the school's premises decreased, until there were only one or two that were heading home. Sakura slid down to the cemented ground, tucking her skirt carefully between the folds of her legs. She placed her bag beside her and folded her arms on top of her knees. Her eyes looked down on the road, wondering when Sasuke would appear.

The school clock chimed, indicating that it was an hour prior school's dismissal. Sakura's lower lip trembled, the knots on her chest tightening once more and a stone settled on her stomach. She stood up and paced towards the gates, then headed back to where she had laid her bag. She felt through the rough texture of the walls with her hand and she drew in huge amount of air to try to calm herself down. Her surroundings swirled into one colour as tears swarmed her vision. She found it hard to swallow as her throat was aching.

She would still wait. Sasuke might be too busy packing up, but she knew he would come. She settled once more on the ground, wiping the tears away vigorously to keep them from cascading down her cheeks. Leaning her chin on her crossed arms, she watched her pale skin glow an orange hue because of the setting sun. It was so beautiful, as if someone had poured a bucket of bright orange ink on her arms.

Moments later, something wet landed on her cheek and she glanced up, for it was not a tear that was on her skin. She failed to notice that dark clouds had hung above her and that rain was threatening to fall. Sakura pulled her legs closer to her body.

He did not arrive, and he broke his promise to her.

The realization struck her like a sharp spade. The familiar warmth of her tears was back again, and this time, she made no attempt to wipe them away, just let them fall on her cheeks in her own way of pouring her emotions out. With a sharp sniff, she placed her forehead on her arms instead and closed her eyes tightly, her shoulders shaking.

He was gone. He lied to her and he was gone. He promised her that he would see her again that afternoon, but he did not come. He disappeared out of her life just like that, like a piece on her game of chess that was attacked and should be wiped out of the board. She would never see his face again, and would never be able to gaze lovingly at his deep charcoal eyes, nor would she hear his enigmatic voice once again.

"Sasuke-kun..." Spasms racked her whole upper body as she continued to pour her tears out, her breathing convulsive.

It was at that time that rain started to pour down – a light drizzle amidst the silent, motionless surrounding.

➺➺➺

**

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.Author's Notes.**

1) Another story from me I guess. Though I must warn you that this one has no definite plot, I only typed out the first chapter out of the blue and I am still considering various twisted ideas that kept nagging my mind. Wether those ideas would be put in this story, it would be up to me.

If I could not think of any solid plots, I might leave it as a one-shot.

2) This chapter; I was very contented after typing it. Sasuke left, Sakura was alone, and Sai came. Another warning was that I am not sure wether this would end up as a Sasuke and Sakura story, or wether it would be Sai she would end up with. I still have to explore the two men's characters, and how it would fit their role in here. I wanted to do both Sasuke and Sai's characters just right, so that they would not be too out of character.

It was my first time writing Sai's character too, so I hope I did just fine.

3) There were a few lines of the characters (like Sasuke, Sakura and Sai) that I got from the manga. I do not read that manga, just searched for the lines that were similar to the scenes that I typed. For example, the first part with Sasuke and Sakura. You should see the similarities when Sakura pleaded Sasuke not to go to the lines in the manga when Sakura tried to coax Sasuke into not leaving the village. And Sai's comment about Naruto too. I do not own those lines by the way.

4) I tried to use the style of common Japanese schools here, thus the big clock on the building, changing shoes and them not changing classrooms unless they have to go to gym or laboratories. Feel free to comment if anything is wrong with what I typed about the schools.

5) I'm sort of trying to experiment on a new writing style, though I doubt that this was different to my previous writings. However, I will try my best not to make the characters too exaggerated, like in my other stories.

6) I hope you enjoyed reading it, intelligent criticisms are much loved. Thank you for reading!

7) This is not an author's notes, but rather an author's rant don't you think?


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